Broken Strings: A Guitar Quartet
by elveren
Summary: Lily, James, Sirius, Remus, Peter and other characters you already know plus my character Lana Wright and their time at Hogwarts. Trust me, it's more interesting than it sounds.
1. 1::

About the story: the title 'Broken Strings: A Guitar Quartet' is an actual guitar piece, I think. Or some variant of one. I don't remember what the selection was called exactly, but I heard it at a camp, and I thought it suited this story well. The main character, Lana (pronounced: Lona [with a short o sound, who remembers their phonics?]) has a guitar and it's pretty much her passion, so the whole guitar theme fits. Also, I'm sorry if it starts off a little slow, but it's all for a good reason. Lana herself needs some explanation before she goes off to Hogwarts.  
  
Sorry if this doesn't at all go with the HP books, I'm trying to keep it somewhat close (i.e. James and Lily getting married, the Marauders being friends. . . . it's not like I could change any of that) But the addition of my character Lana will change some things around a little, but none of the major points.  
  
Also, I claim no rights to any of the HP characters, except Lana and any others I might come up with using my own brainpower. (just thought I'd throw that in.)  
  
Now, with out further ado....  
  
::Broken Strings: A Guitar Quartet::  
  
::1::  
Running. That's all. Nothing on her mind. Just running. Short sobs erupting between breaths. Falling behind. Too tired. Couldn't go on. Slowing. That one fatal mistake. Tripping. Cobble stones rushing towards her. Blue light. A blinding pain. And then nothing. All thoughts like a deep crimson blood staining a white sand.  
  
That was the dream, the dream that had haunted her for years. It returned every now and then. And every time it brought back the pain.  
  
She was sweating as she stumbled into the bathroom. Leaning over the sink she turned on the faucet and splashed the icy cold water on her face. Her ears pricked up as she heard a sound from the hall.  
  
"Lon, are you okay?" called her mother.  
  
"Yea, I'm fine," Lana said, her face still buried in her hands.  
  
Lana listened as her mom's footsteps died away followed by the quiet click of a bedroom door. She looked up at her face in the mirror. Her short dirty blond hair gently curling out, accenting her blue eyes that shown like brilliant sapphires. She wasn't by any means ugly, but had never been called the school beauty queen. But what really caught your attention were her ears. They were where any normal ears should be, although they were anything but normal. Protruding about five and a half inches off her heard, covered with a soft velvety tawny thin fur, they greatly resembled that of a cat's ears. In fact, Lana found she felt particularly feline at times, most likely owing to the feline blood now circulating, mixed with own which happened to be the direct cause of the change in her ears and growth of her tail. Approximately two and a half feet in length, her tail was covered in a thicker and longer tawny fur and often the source of her lack of humanistic qualities.  
  
Artemis Lana Wright sat staring at her reflection. That dream was all she could remember about why she was this way. Even though no one knew for sure, a strange transfiguration that went awry was anyone's best guess. But the fact of the matter was that Lana was facing her sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was doing so with a tail and ears. Just like it had been since she started at Hogwarts in her first year.  
  
She walked back into her room and sat on her bed. Her truck was packed and everything was ready. Lana would soon be leaving for Hogwarts; a trip she longed for and dreaded at the same time. Sure she had friends. Maybe not a large group of good friends, but she did have Lily Evans, and that was good enough.  
  
Lana was brought out of her musings by her mother's voice. "Lon, it's time to go. Hurry up and get ready or you'll miss the train."  
  
"K, Mom," she replied as she started undressing and quickly pulling on her faded gray jeans and black sleeveless undershirt. Tying her shoes and buttoning her white shirt as fast as she could she kicked her trunk out of her room and grabbing her guitar case she walked downstairs pushing her trunk down violently in front of her.  
  
Having finally boarded the train, Lana began searching for Lily when she heard a voice call out from behind her.  
  
"LON!!!"  
  
Lana turned around to find herself being hugged by her best friend.  
  
"Lon! Wow! You're gorgeous!" Lily said, holding her friend at arm's length.  
  
"What? And I wasn't before?" Lana laughed.  
  
Lily giggled, "of course! You were butt ugly. . . .just kidding! No, I mean something's different."  
  
"No Lil, I've always had the ears."  
  
Lily laughed again, "I know that, but something still seems different."  
  
"Well thanks. . . .I think," Lana said giving her friend a quizzical look. "And you've changed a lot, too. I mean look at your hair. It's longer. It's auburn color stands out so much more. It's hideous."  
  
Both girls started laughing. It looked like their normal routine of jokingly insulting each other was back in place.  
  
"Oh shove it, you wanker, you can't say much about my hair, look at yours," Lily said.  
  
"What?" Lana said smiling as she pretended to be offended.  
  
"It looks like someone took a razor to it. So choppy. Did you let the neighborhood schizophrenic cut it?"  
  
"So funny. . . so funny," Lana laughed.  
  
The train lurched forward as it pulled out of the station. Lily fell sideways and grabbed onto the nearest sliding glass door but Lana stood unfazed.  
  
"Having some trouble there, Lil?" Lana said in a high pitched voice, as if talking to a child.  
  
"Shut up, it's just because of that tail. It's not like you've got any real balancing skills," Lily said as she stood back up, accustoming herself to the motion of the train.  
  
"Ouch, you got me" Lana said as she pretended to stab herself and fell back onto the train seat behind her.  
  
"Oh stop being so dramatic and tell me about your summer," Lily said as she sat down on the bench across from Lana.  
  
Lana sat up and the girls chatted for the remainder of the trip. It was just like going home again.   
  
-- Ok, well, I know that was kind of slow and kind of short. But it gets better. Trust me. This was more of an introductory chapter; I'll be posting the next one shortly.   
Elveren 


	2. 2::

Here's chapter two. No reviews yet, but I'm going on good faith that someone out there likes this! Anyways, here goes  
  
::2::  
  
Lana woke up in her dorm room. Not thinking to look for Lily she walked down to the common to grab a quick bite to eat before heading off to get her schedule. It was Thursday. They had arrived yesterday and classes would start tomorrow. What an odd way to do it. It would make so much more sense to leave Saturday, receive your schedule and get acquainted with the school on Sunday, and *then* go to classes on Monday. -I suppose they have their reasons- she thought.  
  
Walking into the common room, Lana noticed it was empty except for James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. For as long as she could remember the four had been best of friends. James had short black hair that subtly curled in every direction and was often disheveled and out of place. He played Quidditch and was rather good at it. Come to think of it, he was good at everything he did, and a little arrogant, but no more than his best mate Sirius. Now there was the quintessential 'heartthrob' (a/n: does anyone say heartthrob anymore? I don't but I couldn't think of any other words.) All the girls swooned over his handsome face, toned body, and black hair that fell over his eyes covering brilliant green irises that often held a piercing stare. Just as arrogant as James, he wasn't as outwardly friendly. Sure he was funny and gorgeous but something about him seemed too dangerous to get close to. Next up was Remus Lupin who seemed to be the conscience of the group. His dirty blondish/light brown hair looked oddly looked James' only with a certain sense of a little tameness to it. Remus was always nice and much less arrogant than his friends. But Lana sensed that he too had something hidden about him. Lastly was Peter. He has to be the one who stood out from the group the most. Quiet and timid he was nothing like James, Sirius, and Remus except that he loved having fun at other peoples' expenses.  
  
Lana walked over to the table, which held muffins, bagels, and other assorted breakfast foods. As she stood trying to decide what to eat she couldn't help but hear bits and pieces of the Marauder's conversation. (a/n: cat ears=better hearing. So naturally Lana has better-than-human hearing.)  
  
"Will the ministry pick up on the transformation if we do it outside of Hogwarts?" Sirius asked.  
  
"I didn't try," James said.  
  
"It was different this summer, not quite as much fun as it is here," Remus said.  
  
Lana pulled herself from the conversation as she decided on a blueberry muffin. -It's rude to eavesdrop- she thought as she walked back up to her and Lily's room. As she closed the door behind her she noticed that Lily wasn't in the room. It wasn't like Lily to leave without telling Lana. She walked over to Lily's bed and after looking around a bit she found a note lying on the bedside table. She picked it up and she took a bite of her muffin as she read.  
  
Family emergency. That was all the note had said. And that Lily would write as soon as she had the chance, of course. It was strange of her to leave the day after arriving at Hogwarts, but she must have had a good reason.  
  
***  
  
The rest of the day went by quickly. Lana got her schedule then went to lunch. She chatted with a few girls that she and Lily sometimes talked to and afterwards went back up the Gryffindor tower and spent the rest of the day unpacking her things. She was late going down to dinner and almost missed it. Eating quickly, she had no time to talk to anyone so being by herself didn't bother her at all. After that she showered and tried to sleep. By the time 12 AM rolled around she was still awake and had given up on sleeping. Grabbing her guitar case she walked down into the empty common room and sat down on the couch in front of the ever-burning fire. Pulling out her metallic ice blue Fender Stratocaster she started softly playing. After a while she started singing, half mumbling the words to the haunting tune her voice gave to the song.  
  
Lana was aware that James Potter had walked into the room, but she didn't care. He could listen all he wanted. They had never been particularly close. He spoke to her in classes and sometimes tried to make her laugh, but a real friendship was never there. Just like it was with any of the Marauders. As she sat singing she heard him quietly walk towards the opposing couch and watched as he came into her field of vision and sat down watching her. She finished her song and leaned back against the couch. He was wearing striped Gryffindor pants and his shirt was unbuttoned, hanging on his shoulders. Lana was wearing identical striped pants but had switched her shirt for a white tank top; pajama sets had never been her thing.  
  
"Singing about lost love, Wright?" James asked.  
  
"What's it to you?" Lana asked and a smile slowly formed in her mouth.  
  
"Nothing really, except it keeps me up all night."  
  
"I doubt that."  
  
"Doubt what?"  
  
"That it keeps you."  
  
"Would I lie to you, Miss Wright?" James asked as he laughing.  
  
"I don't know, would you?"  
  
Lana raised her eyebrows and looked at James as he laughed and looked around the room, finally fixing his gaze on the fire that gently illuminated the room.  
  
"Well," Lana said putting her guitar up, "if it keeps you up, then I'll stop playing and go to bed."  
  
"I said it kept me up. I never said I didn't like it," James said as he flashed his charming smile at Lana as she walked towards the stairs.  
  
--  
  
Okay, well, again, that was kind of short. Chapter 3 is a long one though. It will get more interesting. Don't worry don't worry . . . . I've got big plans in store for this. 


	3. 3::

Two whole reviews! Super cool!  
  
::3::  
  
Lana sat up. Lily was gone. Now who would she talk to? -Oh well,- she thought, -it won't be the first time I'll have been alone.-  
  
After putting on her robes she grabbed her bag and threw it over her shoulder. All she had was transfiguration and then the rest of the day was free to do anything; homework, hang out (with whom? She asked herself as she remembered Lily wasn't here) or just do nothing. Who knows? Lana even considered attending the Quidditch match (Gryffindor vs. Slytherin, it was just a practice match, to see where both teams needed improvements from last year.)  
  
Lana walked into the common room as she speculated over what to do that day and would have walked right past him if he hadn't have said something.  
  
"Good morning, Miss Wright," James Potter said cheerily.  
  
"And what have I done to merit a greeting from the mighty James Potter?" Lana replied.  
  
"Why worry about meriting it? The mighty James just decided you looked lonely."  
  
"So your good deed for the day is talking to me, thus quenching my deep loneliness," she said with visible sarcasm.  
  
"Are you always like this?" James asked.  
  
Lana smiled at his persistence, "Only in the mornings."  
  
"Then let's go get some breakfast and 'quench that deep loneliness,'" James said as he offered Lana his arm.  
  
"Sounds like a plan," Lana said as she smiled and placed her hand in the fold of his elbow.  
  
***  
  
Walking into the Great Hall, Lana and James were laughing feverishly. Matching wits with each other proved to be quite entertaining.  
  
"You're quite an interesting person. . . .Artemis," James said as he sat down.  
  
Lana stopped before sitting and stared down at him. "How'd you know my name was Artemis?" she asked.  
  
"I have my ways."  
  
"Good answer," she said as she sat down.  
  
Breakfast had just appeared before them as Sirius, Remus and Peter walked in.  
  
"Oy, Potter!" Sirius called. "Where were you this morning?"  
  
"Need you ask?" Remus laughed. "Can't resist a pretty face can you James?"  
  
"Haha. Very funny guys," James said, "I just decided to walk with Lana to breakfast after her guitar playing kept me up all last night."  
  
Lana laughed as Sirius asked, "Well, if you're quite finished going through all the *fun* you two had last night, mind if we join you?"  
  
"Oh shut up, I just listened to her play some Muggle instrument," James said sounding annoyed.  
  
Sirius raised a eyebrow, "That's what they all say, isn't it?"  
  
"You find it very hard to drop any subjects, don't you?" James asked in a mocking tone.  
  
"What can you expect, he's got to have one hell of a memory to remember all those names. So forgetting something must be rather difficult," Remus said quietly.  
  
"What names?" James asked, thinking he had an idea of where this was going.  
  
"Oh you know, the usual," Remus said, the smile on his face growing, "just the names of everyone *he* had fun with last night!"  
  
James and Remus died laughing as Peter sat looking confused. A little slow in picking up on jokes and anything come to think of it.  
  
"Very funny," Sirius growled.  
  
As breakfast went on, Lana was introduced to everyone. She found Sirius was just as charming as James but while James had a boyishly cute look to him, Sirius was more handsome and had a smile that would melt your heart. But although his looks were nice, something about him made Lana feel wary of getting too close to him. Despite this thought though, something about him was like a good thing you can't get enough of.  
  
Lana stood up suddenly, earning some odd looks from her new friends. "Sorry, I just remembered Professor McGonagall wanted to see me before class today. I guess I'll see you later, then."  
  
As Lana turned around she nearly ran into the Sirius who was now standing in front of her offering his arm. "Mind if I escort you? I happen to be going in the same direction."  
  
"Not at all," she replied, taking his arm, "but why the sudden interest in me?"  
  
"Well, any friend of James' is a friend of mine," Sirius said as they began walking out of the Great Hall.  
  
"So I'll see you at the match, then?" James called after them.  
  
Lana turned around and smiled, "at the match."  
  
Once out of the Great Hall, Lana persisted with her question. "So really, why the sudden interest in talking to me?" she asked.  
  
Sirius smiled, "Oh James and I have been looking for something to match wits with for the longest time. He does get quite dull after a while."  
  
"Oh, so I'm just a tool for your entertainment?" Lana said sarcastically as she laughed.  
  
"Not at all . . . .Artemis."  
  
"How does everyone know my name?" Lana asked with fake exasperation/  
  
"I have my ways," Sirius said slyly.  
  
"Again," Lana sighed, "good answer." Clearly she still wanted to know how everyone knew her name. Was there some message that she missed out on announcing her name??  
  
"Aw, don't sound so depressed there, Art. I think it's a nice name."  
  
"Would you tell me otherwise?"  
  
"No, probably not," Sirius said as he chuckled. "You're a handful, Miss Wright."  
  
***  
  
After class Lana walked out the door to find Sirius waiting.  
  
"So, what shall we do? We've got the whole day free," he asked.  
  
"Us. . . . ?" Lana questioned.  
  
"Why yes, Art. Didn't I mention we've got the same schedule, did I?"  
  
"No, must have slipped your mind," Lana said as she grinned. He was just as charming as James.  
  
"Well, now I have. So what would suit your fancy?"  
  
"Hmmm. . . ." Lana's stomach growled, "I would like some lunch, but it's not for another hour."  
  
"Not a problem. Follow me," Sirius said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her through the mass of students.  
  
As they neared a long corridor the crowd around them thinned. Sirius let go of her hand and walked up to a large portrait of fruit.  
  
"Sirius, staring at fruit isn't going to help my hunger."  
  
"Watch and learn," Sirius said as he tickled the painted pear.  
  
The portrait door swung open and he stepped in. Lana followed in as the portrait shut. She looked around and found herself in a very large kitchen. House elves scurried around; some carried trays and some running to pick up trays full of delicious foods.  
  
One ran up the two and asked, "How may I help ye?"  
  
Sirius thought as he ran his hand through his black hair. "Err. . . I'll have some chicken, potatoes, green beans, and a glass of pumpkin juice."  
  
The elf turned to Lana and looked at her with anticipation.  
  
"Me?" she asked, pointing to herself.  
  
"Yea, order anything, they'll make whatever you want," Sirius said.  
  
Her ears pricked up, "Well in that case, I'll have the same thing. But add a slice of pumpkin cheesecake."  
  
"Out eating me, Miss Wright?" Sirius jokingly asked.  
  
"Looks like I am."  
  
Turning to the house elf, Sirius added, "Give me two slices, then."  
  
"Touché," Lana laughed.  
  
After receiving their plates they walked out to the common grounds and sat by the lake.  
  
"I've never see the grounds this empty," Sirius mused.  
  
"They're all at lunch," Lana said lazily as she lay back on the ground and looked up at the clouds. Her tail twitched slightly as she sighed and placed her hands behind her head.  
  
Sirius looked over at Lana and letting this curiosity get the better of his asked, "So how'd you get the ears and all?"  
  
Lana looked at him and met his stare. She tried desperately to hide the pain she felt was apparent in her eyes. It was an innocent question, and yet, like her, something seemed to be hiding itself behind those stunning green eyes, too.  
  
Looking away, she replied, "I'd rather not. . . ."  
  
"Oh," Sirius said nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck, "sorry."  
  
"No, it's alright," Lana said, forcing a smile. "You're not the first person to ask. But I just don't feel like dealing with it right now."  
  
"Oh, well, sorry. I didn't know," he said, his hand jumping to the back of his neck again.  
  
"Really," she said, a real smile playing around the corner of her mouth. He was even cuter when he was nervous. "It's okay. Being part cat *does* have it's advantages."  
  
Sirius leaned back on his arms as Lana closed her eyes and began to drift off to sleep. She was almost asleep when she was awoken (a/n: is awoken a word?) by Sirius picking her up.  
  
"So if you're part cat, are you scared of water?" he laughed as he tossed her into the lake.  
  
Lana barely had time to yell before she realized what was going on and hit the water. Quickly standing up she was knee deep in water with little droplets of the cold liquid dripping off her now soaked hair. She stared in disbelief at a laughing Sirius. Without saying a word she walked out of the lake and started running after Sirius who, after taking one look at her, started running. But in all his efforts to outrun Lana he missed his bag and stumbled over it. He slowed just enough that Lana caught up with him and jumped on his back. She was laughing as he carried her around effortlessly, then, jogged over to the lake and dropped her in the water; but not before Lana grabbed onto his shoulders and pulled Sirius in with her.  
  
"Damn! It's cold!" Sirius shouted.  
  
Lana laughed as she stood up and pushed Sirius back in.  
  
Walking over to her bad, Lana picked it up and started heading towards the Gryffindor tower.  
  
"Oy, Wright!" She heard Sirius call out, "That wasn't very nice of you."  
  
She glanced over at him as she shook his head, spraying her with water from his wet hair.  
  
Lana smiled slightly. "You weren't exactly an angel yourself, now were you?" she said as they walked up to Hogwarts to change for the Quidditch match.  
  
--  
  
Well, I'm working on the next chapter, but school has me bogged (ooh, neat word!) down with work. It's almost impossible to find any free time. The next chapter is almost done, sort of. It'll be up soon. No worries! 


	4. 4::

To Mystical Flame: yea, I know there's not much Lily and James, but I kind of have to find a way for Lily to be obligated to be around James, and that's through Lana's friendship with Lily. So once Lily gets back (which will be soon! *cough cough cough cough*) there is going to be a lot of, oh man what's that word?? I can't remember. Well, there's going to be a lot of stuff between the two. So anyways, I think that's all I was going to say.  
  
Just thought I'd throw this in too ***=location change *~*~*=perspective or perspective and location change (^^that way no one's confused!)  
  
So, here's chapter four in all its entirety.  
  
::4::  
  
--Notice:  
All students will be receiving a week's vacation period following the Halloween Celebration on October 31. Students may return home if they wish.  
The train will be leaving on Sunday November 1 and returning on Sunday  
November 8.  
  
Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster--  
  
"You did this, Moony?" Sirius said, reading over the board one more time.  
  
"Yea, and after getting you three a weeks vacation I'd say you owe me," Remus said.  
  
"How'd you do it?" Peter asked, not really thinking.  
  
"Wormtail, how is it that you never follow anything?" James asked as he rolled his eyes.  
  
Peter opened his mouth to say something but decided against it,  
  
Remus started walking towards a patch of tress. "I just asked if they could give us some time off during the full moon so I don't miss much school. Then I can say I went home early."  
  
"You're a genius, Moony," James said as he and the rest of the Marauders sat on the surrounding ground.  
  
"So who are you asking to the dance, Prongs?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Well, if Evans would get back in the next two weeks I'd ask her. She's been away long enough anyways. What about you, Padfoot?"  
  
Remus looked at them with a bit of confusion on his face and lowered his voice. "You do know that I'll probably be making my transformation the night of the dance."  
  
James looked up and glanced around to see if anyone might have heard. Only Severus Snape, a sixth year Slytherin, was walking by and it was doubtful he had heard anything. "Don't worry, Moony. We wouldn't miss the full moon for anything."  
  
"I'd just like to have a date lined up incase it isn't that night," Sirius said as he lounged against a tree.  
  
"So Padfoot," James asked, "who are you asking?"  
  
"Well, I was thinking about asking Lana."  
  
"She makes me nervous," Peter said.  
  
"Wormtail, everyone makes you nervous. Scared she's going to eat you?" Sirius laughed.  
  
Peter looked nervous and a whine-ish sound came from the back of his throat.  
  
"She's a nice person," Remus said, "seems a bit too complex for your tastes, though, Padfoot."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sirius growled.  
  
"Only that you tend to go after the . . . . .how can I put this?" Remus said as a smile spread across his face.  
  
"The more intellectually challenged." James added helpfully trying to hold back laughter.  
  
"That's what I was going for!" Remus laughed.  
  
"Shove it, Moony. I might just ditch you for Lana on Halloween."  
  
"Would you, Padfoot?" Remus asked. "You haven't even asked her, have you?"  
  
"Well not yet, but I will," Sirius said as he stood up and walked off.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Lana was sitting in the library reading a rather large book. She was so buried in her own thoughts she almost didn't hear the library door open.  
  
"Hey Sirius," she said as she heard him near her.  
  
"Wha-how'd you know it was me?"  
  
Quickly flipping away from the section she was reading, Lana turned around and gently tapped on her ears. "I heard you."  
  
"Oh," Sirius said as he rubbed the back of his neck.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"What do you mean, why do I always have to want something?" Sirius said in a playful whining voice.  
  
"Well," Lana paused, "You're nervous about something, so what is it?"  
  
"Sirius looked up at the ceiling as if searching for the right words. "You know that Halloween Dance." He asked.  
  
"Yea."  
  
"Well, uh, do you want to go with me?"  
  
Lana looked down as she thought. - What is there to think about? - She silently screamed at herself, - this is Sirius Black asking *you* to the dance! - But despite how dream like it sounded, something was holding Lana back from saying yes.  
  
Sirius saw Lana's internal conflict and added. "I mean you don't have to if you don't want to. I just thought it would be fun, I guess."  
  
Lana smiled, "I'd love to go with you."  
  
*~*~*  
  
"Really?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Yea, sure," Lana smiled, "like you said, it might be fun."  
  
"Ok," Sirius said, feeling quite proud of himself. "Well, I've got that Potions essay to write, so I'll see you at dinner."  
  
"Maybe. Lily's supposed to be coming back before dinner so I might sit with her."  
  
Evans was coming back. "She could sit with us, I don't think anyone would mind." Now James couldn't say Sirius never did anything for him.  
  
"Sounds good, I'll see what she wants to do." Lana said as she turned back to her book.  
  
Sirius, seeing that the conversation was obviously over, walked out of the library very confused. He couldn't believe it; someone almost turned him down. Him, Sirius Black, the same person, who could be seen snogging with at least three different girls in the same day, almost got turned down. This wasn't any different than any other relationships. Well, if you could call them relationships. They were normally girlfriends here and there; Remus and James had even started calling them 'kissing partners' because frankly, that's what they were. As Sirius thought about it, he'd never been in a real relationship before. Was Remus right? Did Sirius only go after the girls who would be hopelessly devoted to him? Who would fawn over him and worship him as their very god? Maybe Remus was right, and Sirius hated that. He hated the fact that Remus seemed to know him better than he knew himself.  
  
Instead of going back outside with his friends, Sirius headed towards Gryffindor tower. He actually felt like doing that stupid essay than go back outside. For once, he felt like he needed time to think. For once, he was actually confused by a girl's actions. He even thought for a moment that he would have been pretty depressed if Lana had turned him down. Not just because of his friends promptings to ask her, but Sirius thought he actually cared about her. (a/n: Woah, revelation time for Sirius)  
  
***  
  
As 6 o'clock rolled around, Sirius found he had only completed about half of his essay in three hours. What was wrong with him? These essays normally took only fifteen minutes, and now he spent three hours on half of it? It was definitely time for dinner.  
  
As he walked into the Great Hall he heard James call him over to their table. "Oy, Sirius! Where have you been?"  
  
"Probably off snogging with someone he met in the halls." Remus snorted.  
  
"Shove it, Moony," Sirius growled. "I was in the library."  
  
"Snogging with someone?"  
  
"No. I was talking to Lana."  
  
"Well I knew it involved a girl," Remus laughed, "I didn't think you go to a library to actually study."  
  
"Very funny, but I asked Lana to the Halloween Dance."  
  
"So," James asked, " are you going with her?"  
  
"Yea, as a matter of fact, I am."  
  
"It took you three hours to ask her?" Remus asked with a smile.  
  
"No, I did my potions essay."  
  
"Sirius. Homework. Something's wrong, you never do your homework," Remus laughed.  
  
"Can we just drop this?" Sirius said, getting angry.  
  
Remus and James were exchanging looks as Sirius saw Lana walk in. And she wasn't alone. Lily was back and the two were walking in laughing and smiling. Sirius had never seen Lana laugh like that when she was around him, he thought. They walked past the Marauders; Sirius thought he felt a dropping feeling in his stomach. What was going on? Did it really bother him that Lana wasn't going to sit with them today?  
  
"Art! Where are you going?" James called as Lana and Lily walked past him.  
  
"I'm sitting with Lily, what does it look like, Potter?"  
  
"Come on, sit with us. Just like old times."  
  
"Old times? James, that was this morning."  
  
James grinned, "Seemed like forever ago."  
  
"Do you ever quit?" Lana laughed.  
  
"What do you think?"  
  
"Need I ask?"  
  
"I think you know the answer, now come on and sit down, bring Evans too."  
  
"Ok, ok, but only because I doubt you'd let me sit anywhere else." Lana said as she walked toward their table.  
  
"Smart girl."  
  
"Thanks, but what about Lily?"  
  
James looked around, "there are plenty of seats available, pick on," he said to Lily.  
  
Lily sat down next to Lana and didn't say much during dinner. She added in a few comments, but Sirius noticed she never sounded too happy.  
  
When dinner was over Lily was the first to stand. "I'm going to back to the dormitories, I've got a lot to catch up on."  
  
"I'll go too, I've got to write that potions essay," Lana said standing up.  
  
They said their good byes and Sirius watched as Lana and Lily walked off.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Walking up to the dormitory, Lily didn't say much. Lana wondered if she was mad at something. But what could she be mad at? Nothing insulting was said at dinner; at least she didn't think anything was said.  
  
As they stepped into the Gryffindor common room Lily exploded.  
  
"How could you do that??!!" she yelled.  
  
"Do what?! What did I do??" Lana said defending herself.  
  
"Be friends with James like that. You've known I've-" Lily cut herself short.  
  
"You've what?" Lana said, raising her voice. "Look Lil, I didn't think you would get so pissed because I talk to James, okay?"  
  
Lily didn't respond even though she looked like she could have killed Lana at the moment.  
  
Lana continued, "All last year James would flirt with you, and you always insisted that you couldn't stand him. But I never said anything. And then you left and who was I supposed to talk to."  
  
"What about Liz, Helen, and Katie? Did you ever think of talking to them?"  
  
"No Lily, they're your friends, not mine. I've never gotten along with them and you know that. I wasn't even the one to start talking to James; he started talking to me. What was I supposed to do? Say 'I'm sorry James, my best friend has a problem with me talking to you.'"  
  
"Yea!! Something like that!" Lily said, not thinking about what she was saying.  
  
"Well fine Lily, next time someone tries to talk to me I'll consult you first to make sure you're not offended."  
  
"Good."  
  
Lily turned to walk off but Lana said, "If I didn't know any better, Lily, I'd say you liked James Potter and you were jealous of me."  
  
Lily quickly turned around, "I do not!" she yelled. "I mean- ugh," she said as she turned around, walked up the stairs and slammed the door.  
  
***  
  
Lana was fuming as she sat on the couch in front of the fire. How could Lily be like that? All Lana did was talk to James and it wasn't like they were anything more than friends. She was so mad she missed Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter. She missed Sirius looking at her, almost holding her with his eyes.  
  
But it wasn't Sirius who came and talked to her that night after everyone had left the common room.  
  
"Are you okay?" James asked.  
  
"Yea, I guess, but how could she do that?? How can she expect that of me?" Lana said, able to vent her anger to someone now.  
  
"Do what? What's wrong? You look like you want to cry." James said as he sat next to her on the couch.  
  
"It's Lily, she got mad, really mad, and kicked me out of our room," Lana said, glancing over at her guitar and pajamas that were lying at the end of the couch.  
  
"She did what?" James asked, sincerely concerned.  
  
"It's nothing really," Lana said as she burst into tears.  
  
*~*~*  
  
James sat watching as Lana started to cry. She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder while her body shook with silent sobs. James had no clue what to do. Should he say something, or just sit there. No, sitting there was cold and heartless, but what do you say to a crying girl? He put his arm around her back and sat holding her while his other hand jumped back and forth from messing with his hair to the arm of the couch. He thought he felt her relax a bit as he held her but she was still sobbing.  
  
It must have been a big row for Lana to be crying this much, James thought. But how could Evans do that to her best friend? James had always seen Lily as a nice pleasant person who only lost her temper with him. Countless times she had insulted him and turned him down, but something in her eyes told him she wanted him to keep trying. And so he did, asking her out, flirting with her, he tried all of that last year. Lily had kept on turning him down but still, something stayed in her eyes; something that told him not to give up on her.  
  
But he still couldn't see Lily yelling at anyone other than him. They had looked so happy at dinner, especially Lana. He had never seen her that happy and care free around him. Now she was sitting here, crying on his shoulder. He felt a wave of almost brotherly compassion. Over the past month and a half, he and Lana had grown pretty close. She had stopped objecting to him calling her by her first name and he knew almost as much as Lily knew about her.  
  
"I'm sorry," Lana said as she sat up, trying to gain control of the sobs shaking through her body.  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For you having to see me like this. It just that-" Lana stopped talking as she started crying and laid her head on his shoulder again.  
  
Again, James didn't know what to say, and putting both arms around Lana sat holding her until she fell asleep.  
  
--  
  
Well, that was really long. Thanks for all the comments; they're super nice! I'm glad people like this. Now that Lily's back, James there's going to be a lot going on between them. I'll be writing again soon, please send reviews! They're such good inspirations to keep writing. 


	5. 5:1::

Okay, Sorry I've taken a long time to update. I started chapter 5 a long time ago then I hit this huge writer's block, aka teachers became gayer than usual and deciding to assign ass-loads of work. How thoughtful of them, eh? But also in the time that I wasn't writing I went through a lot of troubles with my friends (namely them being bitches) and so a lot of that came out in this chapter. I also got a very juicy upcoming chapter written too. But I digress, this one is chock-full of character development and insights into my friend problems (namely them being bitches). Sorry if the first paragraph or so reads like shit, I wrote it before my writers block so it's like old writing whereas the rest of the chapter is new writing. And so without further ado, may I present to you, Oscar nominee, Chapter 5!!!! room applauds  
  
remember -[insert words here]- is a thought inside the character's mind.  
  
::5.1::  
  
Lily woke feeling tired and worn. She hadn't slept good after her fight with Lana and desperately wished that she could just lay in bed the rest of the day. Sitting up, Lily realized that Lana's bed was empty and looked like it hadn't been touched since two nights ago.  
  
-I can't believe she left to avoid me- Lily thought before she remembered she had actually kicked Lana out.  
  
After dressing and picking up a few things around her room, Lily stumbled down the cold stone stairs to an almost empty common room. The always-burning fire crackled its warm light shone upon a fellow 6th year who was frantically working on the Transfiguration essay due next period.  
  
Lily looked around as she wondered where Lana had ended up sleeping. After a few minutes of her eyes carelessly drifting, she finally found a familiar guitar case propped up against the end of one of the couches with Lana's pajamas nearby. As Lily walked by, she stopped and stared at the sofa where Lana had spent the night.  
  
-God, that couldn't have been at all comfortable.-  
  
Maybe she was being unreasonable; maybe she didn't have a right to be angry.  
  
-Yea, and monkeys will fly out my ass.- (a/n: I've heard that before somewhere, anyone know who says that?)  
  
Lily reassured herself she did have a good reason to be mad. After all, Lana had gone and been friends with the one person that Lily wasn't sure about.  
  
It was one of those off-and-on relationships: Lily would admit that she liked James, and then conveniently after she decided to stop being in denial he'd go and pull one of his damned arrogant stunts. It had worked that way for as long as she could remember. Even Lily had found herself unable to stand ground against his irresistible charm and looks. But she would never admit it to anyone, save herself, of course. Not even Lana knew about Lily's feelings, which seemed to be violently at odds with each other at the moment.  
  
Shaking herself from her thoughts, Lily walked down to the Great Hall for a much needed breakfast. She walked right past Lana and, determined to spend as little time as possible with anyone that might bring up last night, grabbed her breakfast and went outside. Although despite her determination to avoid Lana, Lily couldn't help but notice that Lana, too, was obviously distraught over last night.  
  
-She deserves it.-  
  
As the boys laughed and made fun of each other, Lana sat still, quietly intent on her food, only smiling when someone said something to her. Even James wore the same forlorn look that Lana sported that morning.  
  
It was a bit unusual for him to not be laughing. . . was it possible that he was upset over what Lily had done and said? She hadn't talked to him, but maybe Lana had. Lily thought she had heard James' voice last night. Had Lana been talking to the reason they were mad at each other, or rather, the reason Lily was mad?  
  
Getting angrier the more she thought about it, Lily grabbed her food and left. Making sure to avoid eye contact with Lana or James, she headed out to the grounds and sat down under one of the trees. Its limbs seemed to stretch endlessly towards the sky as Lily admired the leaf-speckled branches. Leaning back against the sturdy trunk, autumn leaves swirled around her in shades of red and gold. The enormous tree gave Lily a sense of timeless comfort, like a friend one could always depend on.  
  
She admitted to herself that she had overreacted. Lana certainly hadn't meant any harm in talking to James; they were just friends. Looking back on what she had said, Lily just want to bury herself in the wind. It seemed like the only solution. Everything was just so complicated now.  
  
A tear rolled down her ivory cheek as she thought of everything that she was now facing. The threats on her family with everything revolving around that and the fact that she had so senselessly pushed away the one person that she completely trusted. It all loomed over her like a foreboding storm, and half of it was over a boy. A stupid boy. A boy that she wished she had never turned down in the first place. But wasn't it always over a boy?  
  
God, how she envied Lana. It wasn't fair. Lily always had the perfect life while Lana's was filled with hurt, ridicule, and scars that could never heal. Now, in Lily's time of dire need, she had pushed away someone who was no stranger to angst and pain; someone who could possible make all of this somehow easier.  
  
Lily envied the fact that James now paid more attention to Lana. Sure it was a childish thought once she realized it; but Lily was truly jealous. He had always playfully teased and subtly flirted with her. Now, as she had come to recognize yesterday morning, James would eventually move on. How Lily wished she had never turned her back on him. She just wanted to cry on his shoulder as she somehow knew Lana had done the past night.  
  
"Hey, Evans," a familiar voice said from behind.  
  
Suddenly stirred from her thoughts, and not entirely convinced she wasn't imagining those two somehow consoling words, Lily looked up to find James casually leaning against the tree.  
  
"Hey, Potter," she said as she dried what remained of her lone tear.  
  
Sitting down beside her, James rested his head against the tree and let a distance glaze settle over the eyes that were the same color as the sky he now contemplated.  
  
What seemed like an eternity passed by before either said anything to break the silence.  
  
"What do you want, Potter?"  
  
Turning his head towards Lily, James met a sorrowful stare and as half a grin spread across his face. "What makes you think I want something?"  
  
Lily smiled for what seemed like the first time that day.  
  
"What if I just want to sit in the presence of a pretty lady without being verbally abused?"  
  
Lily snorted. "Come on, out with it, Potter. What do you want?"  
  
"Well," James began nervously as he unknowingly ruined all of Lily's hopes that he had really come to just sit with her. "I was wondering if, um, you might come to the Halloween Dance, with, ya know, me. .?"  
  
Lily turned around to hide her disappointment. It was nothing to get upset over, but, for reasons unexplainable other than you have to be in the same situation, her eyes began to water.  
  
-Just say yes.- She told herself as she did exactly the opposite.  
  
"I thought you actually cared. But all you wanted was to ask me to the dance," she exclaimed as she jumped up from her relaxing spot against the tree.  
  
As James became more visibly confused, and Lily realized how big of a ditch she was digging herself into, she found she couldn't stop. "For once I thought you've changed but I guess I was wrong. James Potter, you make me sick."  
  
"So, uh. . . is that a yes?" James called out to her as she walked off.  
  
"Fine."  
  
And with that, Lily stormed back up to her room only to realize she'd have to face him sooner or later.  
  
--  
  
I realize that the last half of the chapter is pretty irrational and doesn't really flow. But it's all owing to the fact that we're seeing this from Lily, who is not too stable-minded at the time. And the 5.1: there's another half to this chapter (they both happen in the same day), but it doesn't really fit it with what just happened so it's its own half a chapter. Oh yea, I realized that there's not much a follow-able time frame. Things aren't happening one day after another so it's kind of hard to follow what day is what. I'll specify when needed, of course, but other than that, it's not to important. Just remember that it's the general beginning of the school year and it's sometime before October 31. Anyway, I think that's all I wanted to clear up for now. I'm sure I'll think of something once I post but oh well. The next half will be up soon, please comment. 4 comments just doesn't do it for me. 


	6. 5:2::

Hello dearies! Here's the second part to chapter 5. I'd like to say that after this I'm going to be working on revising the first 4 chapters. Not adding anything major, but changing them around so they sound better. I'll still be working on the other chapters and I hope everyone keeps reviewing. Let me send a brief ShOuT oUt (don't you hate the way everyone always says 'shout out' in sticky caps? (don't you just hate how people use sticky caps in the first place?))  
  
MPPSexxySiriusJamesRemus- thanks for sticking with me, and commenting TWICE!!! WHOA!!!  
  
DariaD- yea, the end is pretty confusing, but Lily is supposed to be really messed up so her actions are pretty erratic. Sorry if I made it too hard to follow.. woops.  
  
::5.2::  
  
Transfiguration lagged on forever in Lana's mind. It was as if someone was watching her life on tape and had suddenly hit the 'slow motion' button. Every word that left McGonagall's mouth seemed to take forever to reach the students; like time had slowed itself to lengthen Lana's angst.  
  
She had noticed that Lily left breakfast unusually early that morning. Lana had to agree that it was better that way; she really didn't want to have to make eye contact. James, the one person who seemed to be sensitive to her feelings, followed Lily. So Lana was left sitting at the table with the remaining Marauders, and try as she might, she couldn't stop their spontaneous nature from spreading to her. It was good to be laughing and smiling again; but McGonagall's class seemed to take that away.  
  
As soon as Transfiguration was over, Lily dashed out the door. Lana stuck with Remus who had taken to telling her his embarrassing childhood stories in hopes of making her laugh.  
  
"I don't see what I was so scared of," he was telling her as they walked out onto the grounds. "It was just a ride at a theme park, but those dinosaurs scared the shit out of me, and in the picture that was taken during the ride, all you could see was my dad. I was busy clinging to his leg for dear life." (a/n: sadly, that really happened to me. I was only 11, no maybe 12, okay, lets just go with 9, and those dinosaurs are so damn life like. It's the stuff nightmares are made of.)  
  
Lana could barely breathe as she sat down against the stone retaining wall. It wasn't the story that was funny, but more of the visual images she was seeing as she imagined Remus shaking at the sight of fake dinosaurs. "I've never been to a theme park. Even though my dad was a muggle, my mum didn't agree with those sort of things."  
  
"I'll have to take you one year, especially to the one with the dinosaur ride. But watch out, they'll get you every time."  
  
"I'll be looking forward to it."  
  
"So who's up for a little game of '21 Questions?'" Remus asked with a mischievous grin spreading across his face.  
  
Lana, sensing immediately where this game was going, decided to go along with it. "Alright, who's asking first?" She said, thinking maybe she could get some deep dark secret out of Remus.  
  
"You can," he said as he moved so he was now sitting in front of her.  
  
"Okay then, Favorite color?"  
  
"Blue."  
  
"Season?"  
  
"Winter."  
  
"Have you ever skinny-dipped?"  
  
"Yea."  
  
Lana kept with the customary 'Favorite -' and 'Have you ever -' questions and ended with, "Are you a virgin?"  
  
"Yes," Remus said as the same grin he'd had earlier returned to his face. "My turn."  
  
As Lana had guessed, the first 20 questions were strictly no-thinking- required types. But it was his last question, the one she knew was coming, that turned the game serious.  
  
"So, your ears and tail. How'd you get them?"  
  
Lana smiled. "How did I know that was coming?"  
  
"Come on, you have to answer, it's the number one rule."  
  
"I know, just give me a minute."  
  
"Besides," Remus said with a gleam in his eyes, "Everything in 21 Questions stays in 21 Questions."  
  
"Promise?" Lana asked, raising her eyebrows.  
  
"It's the number two rule. I can't argue with the rules, now can I?"  
  
Lana gave a short laugh as she turned her attention to the sky. It would be less distracting if she didn't have to worry about any facial expressions from her audience while she told her story; a story she'd only told to one other person.  
  
"Okay then, I guess I have to start where all of this began: in London, with a man I called Mr. Reaper.  
  
"I was 8 when we lived in a small London flat. We being my parents and me. It was just like any other flat. It was small, but never crowded. I liked being around our neighbors, too. They would all spoil me by making muggle treats, they were all muggles, and they'd teach me interesting card games. I know most children don't enjoy cards, but it was something my grandmother would do with me when she came for a visit so it always reminded me of her. Anyways, there was one man, a wizard, that lived in the area but no one knew his name. He was tall, with a pale complexion and greasy black hair. It was no wonder I was so fascinated with him. No one knew anything about him and I was determined to at least get his name.  
  
"My friend and I would make a game of spying on him and called him 'Mr. Reaper.' I suppose that's why he had it in for me. I wouldn't be too happy if I had little 8 year olds snooping around my house. But I didn't think of that, all I could think of was how much attention I'd get when I found any interesting about the so-called 'mystery man.'  
  
"After a year of intruding in on his life, I guess he just snapped. I was walking home from a friend's house and I had lost track of the time. It was pretty late and the streets were unusually empty. But I didn't notice, I was too busy trying to find the moon.  
  
"I don't remember much of what happened next. A face in the shadows, me screaming and running. In my panic, I fell off the side walk and into the street. Blood ran into my eyes shortly after my fall and then there was a flash of bright light. I woke up to another bright light, but it wasn't the same. I was in a hospital this time instead of lying in the street.  
  
"My parents came in and told me they had heard my scream and ran outside to find the streets empty, save my convulsing body. The cut in my forehead was already bleeding onto the pavement around me, but I was lucky to have not cracked my skull. I ended up suffering a concussion, and because of that I was brought to St. Mungo's. My mum said she felt safer with me in a wizard hospital instead of a muggle one and it's a good thing she put me in St. Mungo's. During the month I was in a coma my tail and ears grew along with the uncontrollable seizures that taken hold of my body while my DNA rearranged itself."  
  
Lana paused to dry off her tears. Reliving the events that had changed her life was never simple and she doubted that telling her story would ever be an easy task.  
  
"I had an irreversible curse placed upon me. A curse that was almost completely forgotten. It was used by ancient Egyptian priests to create 'gods on earth,' or human replicas of their gods. Over the years, its name has been lost and only a few know how to perform it.  
  
"I had occasional seizures after I was released. I was told that it was my DNA finalizing its restructuring. There was nothing anyone could do to stop the process. Like I said earlier, it's an irreversible curse. And in being so, all they could give me was some medication for epilepsy."  
  
"What? Why weren't your seizures stopped with magic.?" Remus asked, speaking for the first time since Lana began answering his 21st question.  
  
"I couldn't be healed with magic. No one knew how it would affect me."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
Lana thought for a minute, trying to remember how the doctors had explained the same question. "I'm only half human now. Magic was designed to heal humans and humanoid creatures. I'm pretty much at the extreme end of the 'humanoid creatures' spectrum, so trying to fix something as simple as a broken bone could end up doing more harm. That's only because my DNA structure is different from any similar human. New cells have to be created and the DNA has to be replicated. Magic forces more DNA to be created so it speeds up mitosis, or cell division. But magic only codes to have human- type DNA recreated. Since my DNA is arranged in a different order, biologists think that if the cells were to be created using magic, the DNA could be sorted according to the normal human prototype. Making sense?"  
  
Remus looked stunned as he tried to process everything that Lana had just told him. DNA, cell division, mitosis. It was definitely more of an answer than he had bargained for.  
  
"Okay, so let me get this straight. You can't be healed with magic. . .because your DNA is arranged differently. . .?"  
  
"Right. Magic might start creating human ears where I need cat ears and then I'd be even more messed up than I am now."  
  
"But what about hexes and jinxes and other magic that changes a person's form?"  
  
"Hexes and jinxes don't seem to have any effect other than their intended one. It's only healing magic that I have to stay away from. And no one knows why, but I'm not about to let anyone experiment on me.  
  
"Supposedly, Egyptian priests had recorded numerous deaths from the curse that was performed on me. Most of them could have been prevented with magic, or had been attempted to be prevented with magic. Historians know they had magical capabilities to stop all of the deaths if they had been in normal humans, but for some reason those people died. Personally, and it could just be me, I don't want to find out why.  
  
"And that's the story behind my ears and tail. Quite an answer to your question, huh?"  
  
"What about 'Mr. Reaper?'" Remus inquired.  
  
"Never found him. He disappeared that night. The Ministry tried to find him but never did. I'm assuming they gave up in the end."  
  
Remus leaned back on his hands, "Wow, what a way to end a game of 21 Questions," he said.  
  
"Over? Sorry hun, I'm just getting started. So who's up for Round 2?" Lana asked. She knew she'd hit a nerve when she saw his relaxed expression fade off his face.  
  
"Round. . . 2. . .?" Remus said, almost stuttering in his distinct nervousness.  
  
"Oh yea, Round 2. --Everyone-- knows that 21 Questions gets fun once you get past Round 1."  
  
Giving a reluctant smile, as if he knew Lana wouldn't let him quit the game now, Remus agreed.  
  
Relaxing against the wall stone wall, Lana popped the question. (a/n: no, not –the-- question, just the question,)  
  
"So tell me Remus, what's your deep dark secret.?"

* * *

Remus closed his eyes as a grin played around one corner of his mouth.  
  
"I suppose I have to tell you, don't I?"  
  
"Yea, ya do. I told you mine. How much worse can yours be?" Lana said, as Remus began to realize that out of anyone, she would best understand his secret.  
  
"You sure you want to know, Art?"  
  
"Remus, you're stalling. Now, out with it. If you don't think I can 'handle' it, you might want to think about what I just told you." Lana said, obviously losing her temper.  
  
"Alright, here goes. I'm a werewolf."  
  
Short and to the point, there was no long story involved with Remus. He had got his bite and that was all it took to seal his fate.  
  
Remus did not break his eye contact with Lana. He waited for any signs of shock or rejection but found nothing.  
  
"How long?" Lana asked.  
  
"Since I was little, at least 6 or 7, I think. It's hard to remember. The years just fade together."  
  
Lana smiled, "We're on the same boat, then, aren't we?"  
  
"Yea, I guess we are," Remus said as he saw many similarities between the two situations. Both were different from those around them and as much as either tried hard not to let it affect their lives, it always did. While Lana would have had more trouble having people get close to her, Remus had trouble letting himself get close to people. He knew that he'd eventually have to tell them he was a werewolf, but he wasn't too sure all friendships would end up like his with James, Sirius, Peter, and now Lana. Remus knew some people wouldn't be comfortable being around a werewolf.  
  
"Sirius, James, and Peter know, don't they?"  
  
"Yea."  
  
"It's like a binding contract isn't it? Once they know your secret you're stuck, huh?"  
  
"That's about it." Remus said, still deep in his thoughts.  
  
"Well then, I guess I'm stuck with you, aren't I?" Lana laughed.  
  
Finally relaxing, Remus smiled, "Well you don't have to make it sound like such a burden, do you? I don't think I'm that bad of a person to be around."  
  
"Not at all, not at all." Lana said as Sirius, James, and Peter walked up.

* * *

Sirius sat down next to Lana and putting his arm around her shoulder gently pulled her close to him.  
  
"So, is my little Artemis feeling better than she was this morning?"  
  
"Much. Me and Remus just finished quite an interesting game of '21 Questions.'"  
  
Sirius glanced at Remus, "I told her. She knows I'm a werewolf."  
  
But that wasn't what Sirius was so suddenly concerned with.  
  
Again, he nodded towards James and Peter and was relieved when Remus cautiously shook his head 'no.'  
  
"So anything else interesting come up? Like the virgin question?" Sirius said, hoping he drew the attention away from the subtle communication that just occurred. He didn't want anyone to know what he, James, and Peter were capable of. It wasn't that he didn't trust Lana, that wasn't it at all. It was just the less people who knew the better.  
  
Remus laughed, "Yea, that came up. I had to spend at few minutes trying to think who I lost it with. You know how it goes Sirius, everyone starts to look the same after a while."  
  
"Sirius doesn't have that problem," James piped in, "he doesn't bother looking at the faces anymore!"  
  
Everyone started laughing except Sirius. For some reason making jokes about how many girls he dated slightly embarrassed him in front of Lana. Maybe it was the fact that even though he'd only really known her for almost two months now, he felt more attracted to her than he had anyone else. For once, Sirius actually cared if she thought him more than a pretty face.  
  
"Shove it, Remus. What d' you know anyway?"  
  
"In the field of girls," Remus said behind a stifled laughter, "Not much compared to you, that's for sure!"  
  
Sirius stood up, "I don't have to take this."  
  
His friends sat staring at him in wonder. He'd never reacted like this before to their jokes on him.  
  
"Aw. . .is ickle Sirius embarrassed that he's a man-whore?" James cooed.  
  
Sitting back down, Sirius reached over and pushed James on his back. As James sat back up laughed at his friend, Sirius put his arm around Lana and pulled her against his side again. Her body was relaxed and fit perfectly in the contours of his. She rumpled his sleek black hair as she laughed and at her touch a sensation shot through Sirius's spine. (a/n: aww. . . is ickle Sirius getting aroused?) He'd never known such a peaceful calm before. A sense of tranquility in just sitting with someone you love. And he knew he didn't want to feel any different.  
  
--  
  
Nice happy ending, eh? Okay, I think that's all for now. Keep reviewing, it's so nice to hear what people have to say. I'm almost done with chapter 6 (my labeled chap. 6, not the sites chap 6, because the site's chap 6 is actually my other half of chap 5.) Also, school starts again soon.. woo.....so I don't know how much writing I'll get done in the next month or so. But I promise I'll get a few chapters up by the end of May. Just keep checking back. And oh yea, and if anyone has any ideas for the story or great pranks to be played by the Marauders, do send them in. I've got a nice plot laid out but I'm always open to suggestions. Well, that's all for now my loves, it's great that people are liking the story.  
  
Elveren 


	7. 6::

Sorry this one's taken a while. I'd gotten about half-way through it then hit one of those "I really don't feel like writing" times. But I'm back and I think this chapter's turned out quite nicely. And quite long.  
  
::6::  
  
Lana woke up on the couch for the eighth day in a row. This was really getting to be too much. Why couldn't she and Lily just stop fighting?  
  
That was a good question, what was there to stop fighting over? Rubbing her eyes, Lana decided not to worry about it. She'd talk to Lily that day and hopefully straighten things out. Not that there was much straightening to do, Lana still didn't see what she had done. She had talked to James Potter, big deal, it wasn't like she'd single handily delivered the world into a nuclear holocaust.  
  
Lana stood up and headed for the stairs. She'd have to get her clothes out of her trunk seeing as how Lily had forgotten to throw her trunk out the door as well.  
  
-Why do I have to be the one to say something?- Lana thought as she opened the door. -After all, I didn't bust an ovary because she talked to some boy.-  
  
The room was dark and Lily was still in bed. Lana quietly opened her trunk and pulled out her white shirt, skirt, tie, and black robes, the customary Hogwarts uniform. Lily was still asleep when Lana climbed onto her bed and closed the hangings and changed. But when Lana emerged, dressed, less than a minute later, Lily was awake.  
  
"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice quite clear for having just woken up.  
  
"Just grabbing my books then I'm gone." Lana said with apparent distaste in her voice.  
  
Making as much noise as possible, Lana pulled her Potions, Charms, and Divination books out her trunk, put them in her bag. Roughly pulling her bag onto her shoulder, Lana slammed her trunk shut and walked towards the door.  
  
"Next time, don't make so much noise," Lily murmured with the same icy tone.  
  
As the door shut, Lana replied with obvious sarcasm, "I'll try."  
  
"Good morning!" Sirius greeted as Lana walked out into the common room.  
  
"What's so good about it?"  
  
"I made breakfast!" Sirius said as he shoved a plate of eggs with bacon that formed a smiley face in her face. "And it's happy to see you!" (a/n: anyone thinking Disney's Mulan when Mushu makes her porridge?)  
  
Lana just stared at plate.  
  
Sirius brought his arm and the plate closer to him and looked down as if examining it. "Well, actually, I didn't make it. The house-elves made it. But I did arrange the bacon in a happy face-type shape. And I did have them put it on this sort of pretty-looking plate."  
  
"Is this supposed to be a turn-on, Sirius?" Lana asked, trying not to smile at how cute he was being.  
  
"Can I at least get a smile. . ?"  
  
"Sorry, love, smiling breakfasts just aren't my thing," Lana said, as a smile played around her lips.  
  
"Oh, well, in that case, Oy Peter!!" Sirius called across the room. "Here, some girl wanted me to give this to you. It's an egg, and it's obviously happy to see you," Sirius said with much less enthusiasm as he handed the plate to Peter.  
  
"A girl? Sent me some breakfast?" Peter asked looking rather amazed.  
  
"Yeah, a girl. You know Wormtail, a member of the other major gender that isn't male. I know it's a first, but don't wet yourself over it."  
  
Turning to Lana, Sirius asked with puppy-dog eyes, "Would a normal breakfast, one that doesn't smile, work?"  
  
Lana couldn't hold her smile back any longer, "Sure," she said through a laugh.

* * *

In Sirius's eyes, breakfast went a lot better than his time with Lana yesterday. No one said anything about Sirius's dating past or any other girls for that matter. Come to think of it, no one said much of anything after Remus had told them some somewhat depressing news.  
  
"Oh yeah," he began, "I'm supposed to tell everyone that they've switched Divination and Charms."  
  
"What?!" Sirius said, hoping he'd heard Remus wrong.  
  
"Yeah, now we've got Double Potions followed by Double Divination. But we will miss a Charms class."  
  
James moaned, "Well there's no hope for staying awake today."  
  
"You don't ever stay awake during any classes, mate." Sirius laughed.  
  
"Oh. . .you're right. I guess I don't have a problem then do I?"  
  
Standing up, Sirius picked up his books, "I'm going down early to get us a few tables in the back. Care to join me, Wright?" he said as he offered her his hand.  
  
"Would you let me refuse?" Lana replied as she took his hand and stood up.  
  
"Not at all. Anyone else coming?" Sirius said, wishing that no one else would come.  
  
"I'm waiting for Evans, but save me a seat, Padfoot," James said, obviously picking up on the fact that Sirius wanted some one-on-one time with Lana.  
  
"Still eating," said Remus, who didn't even look up from his plate.  
  
"I'll come!" Peter exclaimed as he jumped up.  
  
Remus grabbed the back of Peter's robes and pulled him back down to his seat. "No Wormtail, you're still eating, too."  
  
Thankful Remus had stopped Peter, Sirius and Lana walked down to the dungeons. The halls were crowded but the people began to thin out as the two descended lower into the school. Turning into the hall that last hall before the Potions room, Sirius noticed that the corridor was empty, it was just him and Lana now.  
  
"You're unusually quiet this morning, Sirius." Lana said as she slowed her walk and turned to face him.  
  
"It's. . .nothing," he said, feeling himself inching slowly towards her.  
  
"Oh come on, you can tell me. What's on your mind?" Lana whispered while she unknowingly backed away from Sirius. But corridors don't go on forever and she bumped into the wall.  
  
"Really. . . it's. . ." Sirius stopped talking. He held Lana with his eyes as he slowly moved closer. She couldn't move away anymore, all she could do was gaze into his endless gray eyes.  
  
-Damn. . .- Sirius thought, -that smile. . . -  
  
Sirius was close enough now that he could feel Lana's body rise and fall as she breathed. Her perfume was intoxicating as he felt the sexual tension heightening. A shiver ran up his spine as he leaned in to kiss her lips. Lips that reflected the torch-light in a clear lipgloss. Everything about this girl was so inviting. . .  
  
"You take blood-traitor to a new level, Black," said a voice from behind that made Sirius jump. But it was a voice that he would know anywhere.  
  
"What do you want, Snape?" Sirius asked, slowly turning to face Snape.  
  
Black and Snape stood even and could have been mistaken for brothers, not just for the physical similarities, but also for the deep loathing between the two. Snape's short, gently spiked hair contrasted the sleek, shoulder length hair that fell in front of Sirius's eyes but both wore his uniform with a dangerous, sexy edge. If Snape hadn't been such a self- proclaimed loner he could have had as good a standing with the ladies as Sirius or James.  
  
"Oh nothing, Black, you've had a history with Mudbloods, but this time she's not even all human."  
  
Lana's eyes that were formerly filled with hatred were now wide and full of shock. "How did you-. . ."  
  
"Hhn," Snape snorted, "Screwing the cat-girl is a disgrace to your family, Black."  
  
Sirius was now facing Snape, trying harder than ever not to punch him, "One, I don't give a damn about what my family thinks. And two, don't ever talk about Lana like that."  
  
"Or you'll what? Send your precious posse after me? Or maybe you'll wise up and stop fucking the Mudbloods and half humans." Snape sneered. A cocky grin spread across his face as he folded his hands casually behind his head.  
  
Without warning, Sirius grabbed Snape's collar and threw him up against the wall. Snape moved as quickly as Sirius had and firmly gripped the wrists that were holding him an inch or two off the ground. "I told you Snivellus, don't talk about Lana like that, or you'll have to answer to me."  
  
Sirius let go of Snape and started to walk of with Lana who was now eyeing Snape with a deep hatred.  
  
"Half-human whore," Snape muttered.  
  
Lana's ears pricked up as she turned around and punched Snape's left cheek. Lana stood over Snape as he lay sprawled on the floor and wiping a trickle of blood off his mouth. ". . .bastard. . ." she growled as she walked off.  
  
"You'll pay for this, Wright," Snape muttered when he thought Sirius and Lana were out of hearing range. But he had forgotten about Lana's ears.

* * *

Sirius walked into the Potion's dungeon and took his customary seat next to James in the back of the room. The entire class was buzzing about Lana's punch. Several Gryffindors congratulated her while the Slytherins just gave her stares that would have been her untimely end if looks could kill. Even Lily said a few words to Lana, despite the fact they obviously still weren't talking. Their reasoning for not talking continued to baffle Sirius, he wasn't even sure he knew the whole story, so he tried not to spend too much time pondering the odd ways of girls.  
  
Class started as Lana and Remus sat down at the table next to Sirius and James. After Professor Warreck had given out the class assignment (create an advanced Vanishing Potion), Lana and Remus were back to discussing the previous events as James and Sirius were concerning themselves with some unsavory looks coming from the opposite side of the classroom.  
  
"You see that, mate?" Sirius said to James while keeping his eyes focused on the Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy. "I'd say those two aren't too happy."  
  
James looked up from his work, "That's odd, Snape looks normal, if you ask me."  
  
"What d'you mean?" Sirius inquired, his eyes finally leaving the two Slytherins.  
  
"Well, Snape looks like he does everyday. Except for that welt on his face, of course. But he doesn't seem to give a shit that Lana just beat his ass in front of everyone."  
  
Sirius glanced back to the left side of the room, "God, that's weird. You'd think he'd be pissed."  
  
"Malfoy looks more offended than Snape does, and he wasn't even there." James said as he turned back to his work.  
  
"What d'you say we put this potion to the test, aye James-ey boy?" Sirius said as that oh-so-familiar grin spread across his face.  
  
"Sounds good to me," James laughed as he handed Sirius a small vial filled with blue liquid.  
  
"Done already?" Sirius asked as he gave the vial a shake, "Brilliant. I'd say that's record time for you."  
  
James gave a cocky shrug, "What can I say? I'm good."  
  
"Oh James," Sirius cooed.  
  
"Yes?" James replied as he leaned back in his chair, hands folded behind his head as if he were at the beach laying in the sun.  
  
"Your ego's showing, mate."  
  
James sat forward, "Hah. Very funny." James pulled out his wand, "Now for putting that on the cauldron. Just be ready to get over there."  
  
Leaning over his desk, James aimed his wand at the front left corner of the room, muttered a few words, then went back to his relaxed position. "Get ready."  
  
A few seconds later an ear-splitting scream startled everyone. Katherine Levine, a good looking Slytherin, jumped out of her seat and ran over to the wall. Her partner, Amie Faucet , quickly followed suit and joined Levine at the wall. Everyone jumped up to see what was the matter with the two girls to discover a large swarm of roaches crawling around the floor. Every Slytherin male raced to the girls' aid and, forgetting they had wands, began madly stomping roaches. A few Gryffindors, hoping to gain favor in the Levine and Faucet's eyes, ran over to stomp the roaches and Sirius saw his chance. He casual walked over to the Slytherin side of the room and, while stomping stray roaches, poured the contents of the vial onto the side of Malfoy and Snape's cauldron. Luckily, Malfoy was busy flirting with Levine, who he had probably already nailed, and Snape, who showed no interest in stomping bugs, was too engrossed in his book to notice the slip of Sirius's hand.  
  
Sirius turned and walked back to his seat and gave a confused Lana, Remus, and Peter (who was sitting at the table in front of Lana and Remus) a wink. Tossing the empty bottle at James, Sirius took his seat and assumed James relaxed position.  
  
"All done. So how long before it works," he said as he glanced over to Snape's cauldron.  
  
"Give it a few minutes," James said. "Most cauldrons have a protective charm on the inside, but normally the outside doesn't have one."  
  
Sirius eyed his friend, "Don't ever sound that smart again."  
  
James laughed, "At least I know what I'm doing. If it weren't for me, I'd say you'd still be figuring out how to get the potion on the cauldron."  
  
"Are you insulting me?" Sirius grinned as he picked up the bottle, "I think we need to give this potion a little test run," he laughed as he turned the empty vial over, pretending to pour Vanishing Potion on James's crotch.  
  
James quickly grabbed the bottle out of Sirius's hand. "Oh no you don't, no vanishing the family jewels, I need those."  
  
"No you don't," Sirius laughed, "from what I hear, Evans still hates you."  
  
"Shove it, Padfoot."  
  
But their argument was interrupted by Malfoy's icy voice. "Damn it, Snape, where the hell is our cauldron?!"  
  
Snape looked up from his book with a glare as cold as Malfoy's voice, "Hell if I know. Maybe if you weren't busy mixing business with pleasure you'd have seen where it went to."  
  
Professor Warreck, who had just finished cleaning up the smushed roach mess, walked over to table with the missing cauldron. "What's the matter Mr. Malfoy?"  
  
"Our cauldron," he said, trying to control his apparent anger, "is gone, sir."  
  
"That's impossible. These cauldrons have a protective charm, the potion wouldn't have vanished the cauldron." Professor Warreck said and upon hearing this James elbowed Sirius's side.  
  
"Mr. Snape, did you see your cauldron vanish?" Warreck asked.  
  
"No, I didn't. And if I did, it wouldn't matter. It'd still be gone."  
  
Warreck turned his attention to the rest of the class. "Did anyone see Mr. Snape and Mr. Malfoy's cauldron and it's contents vanish?"  
  
"I saw Sirius Black walk over to it," Amie Faucet said.  
  
Sirius sat forward, "What?" he said while acting like he'd been falsely accused, "I just wanted to help you get rid of those roaches. Since you seemed so distressed and all."  
  
Amie glared at him, "Well I didn't need your help," she mumbled a little to loudly.  
  
Sirius smirked, "It appears that you did, though. From the way you and Levine clung to that wall I'd say you needed all the help you could have gotten."  
  
"That's enough," Warreck said. "Does anyone have proof that Mr. Black poured Vanishing Potion on the cauldron?"  
  
Of course everyone knew it had been Sirius and James, but without any proof no one could touch them.  
  
"Well, since no one has proof, I'm afraid I can't do anything," Warreck sighed. "Everyone turn in a sample of their potion then clean up. Mr. Snape and Mr. Malfoy, I'm afraid I can't do anything but give you a zero for today's assignment since you have nothing to turn in."  
  
At that Malfoy shot Sirius and James one of the most evil glares they had ever received from the long haired blonde, it was definitely among the top 10 on the "Evil Looks Given From Lucius Malfoy" chart. Snape on the other hand, glance over at the laughing duo then turned his attention back to his book. He apparently didn't seem do care that his potion had just disappeared and gotten him a zero for the day.  
  
-Fuck. Why doesn't he care?- Sirius thought, trying not to show how much Snape's indifference bothered him.

* * *

While Sirius and James (trailed closely by Peter) reveled in the glory of their prank, Lana and Remus walked towards the Astronomy Tower for a wonderful dose of Double Divination.  
  
"I should have dropped this class when I had the chance," Lana sighed.  
  
"Oh come on, I always find it refreshing to learn that I could die in seven different ways this week," Remus laughed.  
  
"True, predicting my own death due to the odd alignment of Venus and London is always a blast."  
  
Remus changed the subject back to Snape, "So no one else, besides me and now Snape, knows that your only half-human?"  
  
"I think I liked the subject of my death better," Lana said with a chuckle. "But yea, I didn't tell anyone, except you of course. Everyone just thinks I look like a cat, but not that I've actually got feline DNA. That's why it shocked me when he called me 'half-human.'"  
  
Remus nodded and looked like he was lost in his own thought.  
  
-He acts like he genuinely cares- Lana thought. -I guess he understands my problems though, we're both in the same boat. He's a werewolf and I'm half-cat.-  
  
Maybe that's why their friendship had deepened in the past weeks. Lana felt, even though she had really known Remus for a few weeks, that she could tell him anything and he would somehow understand.  
  
-Well, almost anything.- Lana laughed inwardly as she imagined talking to Remus about things that she would normally talk to Lily about. Boys, how much her period made her want to die, more boys, and girl stuff in general. She really couldn't imagine Remus sitting up at all hours of the night giggling about nothing.  
  
God, she really missed Lily.

* * *

After dinner Lana decided to head to the library to start research on her Divination essay. Three pieces of parchment on the history of star- gazing would be no problem. If you found the right book it was just copying paragraphs while changing around some words, of course.  
  
While walking down the corridor Lana caught up with Lily.  
  
"What do you want?" Lily grumbled.  
  
"I'm just going to the library, if that's alright with her majesty."  
  
The two walked in silence the rest of the way. It was awkward but Lana couldn't think of something to say. She wasn't going to apologize. After all, the way she saw it, she had nothing to apologize for. So as a result of stubbornness neither said a word.  
  
As they neared the intersection of the corridor they were traveling by and the one that went to the library Lana heard four familiar voices.  
  
"So what'd she say the second time you talked to her?" a voice Lana recognized as Sirius said.  
  
"She said she'd go with me but I don't think she was too happy," James said.  
  
"When? The first time or second time you talked to her?"  
  
Lana looked over at Lily and for a brief moment the two put aside their differences, walked up towards the corner of the wall (out of the Marauders' range of vision) and stood quietly listening to the conversation that was unfolding.  
  
"Eh, the first time was weird. We had a decent conversation, then I asked her and she freaked. Something how I didn't care and just wanted to ask her to the dance. The second time, she said she was sorry for snapping, something about not feeling like talking at the time, and that she'd go with me." James said.  
  
"I still don't think what you two did was right," Remus said, speaking for the first time since Lana and Lily had started eavesdropping.  
  
"What'd they do?" Peter asked.  
  
"Honestly Wormtail, sometimes I wonder whether you pay attention to anything," Sirius said.  
  
"James had Sirius ask Lana to the dance thinking that if Lana went with Sirius Lily would go with James," Remus said, "And like I said, you should never have done it."  
  
Lana felt like she had just been hit by a truck. He had only asked her so Lily would go with James. She'd trusted him.  
  
Lana could feel Lily's stare and she turned to meet a pained face.  
  
"Lana. . . I'm so sorry," Lily said and pulled her friend into a hug.  
  
Everything that had happened, the fighting and the not talking was gone as tears rolled down Lana's face. She pulled away from Lily and dried her cheek. The shock had worn off and now she just wanted to beat Sirius into oblivion. She hated James as well. She hated both of them for thinking they could use her.  
  
Lana dropped her messenger bag and rounded the corner. Walking at a fast pace she had one intention and one intended target. She had forgotten she was wearing her pajamas, baggy black cotton pants and a black tank top, not ideal clothes for getting into a fight in, and walked fearlessly up to James and Sirius. They wore expressions of pure shock that had covered their faces since they saw her come around the corner. Remus, who could see how angry she was, had backed away and was followed by Peter, leaving Sirius and James standing side-by-side in the middle of the corridor.  
  
"Don't you ever think you can fucking use me again," Lana growled as she punched Sirius and without giving James time to react turned and caught his jaw before he could speak.  
  
Both boys stumbled back, Sirius clutching his cheek and James massaging his jaw.  
  
"Damn girl. . ." James managed to say while rubbing his jaw.  
  
Lana turned to Sirius, "You're lucky I don't rip you to pieces right here and now."  
  
Sirius smiled, "Aw, you wouldn't do that, Art."  
  
-Wrong move-  
  
Lana took a step towards Sirius and this time punched the other side of his face. He stumbled back and Lana grabbed his throat just under his chin and held him against the wall.  
  
"You don't know what I'd do, Black."  
  
Despite Lana's tight grip on his throat Sirius managed to speak, "I love a girl that could kick my ass."  
  
Lana gave a disgusted sigh, let go of his throat, and walked towards the corridor she just came from.  
  
James looked up to see Lily standing by Lana and looking just as pissed off. Lana threw her bag over her shoulder and with one last glare both turned and walked towards the Gryffindor tower.  
  
"I'd have to say you're screwed, mates," Remus said quietly.  
  
--  
  
So how was that? 9 pages (on Word, times new roman, pt 10) of fanfiction. . . .it took me long enough, anyway. I must apologize again for not having updated in a while. Finals really threw me off, then I hurt my hand so I couldn't type for a while, but I'm back and I've got Chapter 7 written already. I'm not going to post it until I get a few more reviews. It'll be up soon though.   
Oh yea, I took the liberty of going with a not-so-common version of Snape. He's got Donnie Darko-Jake Gyllenhaal looks with the ever attractive loner personality (well, not so great in this chapter, but we'll be seeing more of him at a later date.)   
And in response to one of my friend's constant question: I finally figured out how to describe how I envision Sirius. (All you Cowboy Bebop fans will know who I'm talking about) I've always pictured Sirius as a younger Vicious, only with black hair, of course. Well that's all for now, please do comment, it makes me feel good.  
  
Elveren


End file.
